Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Loving You Is RED

Life as a red-head is actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be..

For those of you who aren't familiar with the reason for the red, here ya go -
About a month ago I received an email inquiry from Eye-5 regarding a casting for a hair commercial. I nervously threw my name in, knowing full well I would never book a commercial, I'm not an actor, but I figured it would be a fun experience to jump out of my comfort zone and audition.
So, I showed up to the casting, soaked from the down-pour we were experiencing, and itching with anxiety. I completely winged it, and forced myself to stay clam. Hey, I thought, at the very least I'll have a good story to tell...
I left feeling pretty proud of myself for actually going, and convinced that was the end of it. You can only imagine my surprise when, days later, I received an email saying I had booked the part!

I had been told at the audition that if I booked the job I would be required to drastically change my hair color. I explained that I have kinda been on a hair-dye kick lately with L'Oreal and that I would welcome a fun change... As I said before, I highly doubted I would actually book the job.

It was quite a shock when, standing in front of the entire production team, the client told me my hair would be changed from it's normal golden-blonde, to a florescent ruby red. Nervous does not even begin to explain the emotion I was feeling.

The morning of the shoot, I woke up in time to watch the sunrise from my bedroom - something I normally only witness after a very late night out, and brushed out my long blonde hair for the last time.

I won't give away the plot of the commercial now (I will share it whenever it finally airs), but basically I start off with blonde hair and finish with red (no, duh!)

Here's a behind-the-scenes, sneak-peek at the production:

It took four hours for my hair to transform from gold to ruby. F O U R hours with a lump in the back of my throat, anxiously praying that I wouldn't look like Raggedy Ann at the end of the whole process.
But, the day of the commercial also just happened to be the two year anniversary of my move to New York. That fact gave me a little perspective. I'm a naturally nervous person but I've experienced enough to know some things are worth worrying over more than others. I thought about the way I felt two years ago and compared it to the anxiety I was having over a hair-hue and realized, nothing about this experience should be negative. I am so blessed to be where I am today, and the fact that I even booked this job was a small miracle, so no matter how my hair turned out, I was going to be thankful for the opportunity.

I figured the best way to embrace the red hair was by associating my new-do with an alter ego. Instead of regular old gold hair + green eyes Ann, I became Mermaid Annie of the Lower Manhattan Seaport. Because, hey, who doesn't want to feel like a mermaid in the summertime?

So that, my friends, has become my new motto - Mermaid Life. "What Would A Mermaid Do?"
And let me tell you, Mermaids have a lot of fun!